COP-MOP Decisions

BS-IV/7. Programme budget for the
costs of the secretariat services for and the biosafety work
programme of the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety for the biennium
2009 2010

The Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the
Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety

1. Welcomes the annual contribution of US$ 1,040,400,
to be increased by 2 per cent per year, from the host country
Canada and the Province of Quebec to the operation of the
Secretariat, of which 16.5 per cent has been allocated per annum to
offset contributions from the Parties to the Protocol for the
biennium 2009-2010;

2. Approves a core programme budget (BG) of US$
2,611,800 for the year 2009 and of US$ 2,880,900 for the year 2010,
for the purposes set out in table 1 below;

3. Approves a drawing of US$ 740,000 from unspent
balances or contributions (carry over) from previous financial
periods which was US$ 1,497,777 as of the end of 2005-2006 biennium
to cover part of the 2009-2010 core programme budget;

4. Authorises the Executive Secretary to enter into
commitments up to the level of the approved budget, drawing on
available cash resources, including unspent balances, contributions
from previous financial periods and miscellaneous income;

5. Approves Secretariat staffing as set out in table 2
below, and requests that all vacant staff positions be filled
expeditiously;

6. Agrees to share the costs for secretariat services
between those that are common to the Convention on Biological
Diversity and the Protocol on an 85:15 ratio for the biennium
2009-2010;

7. Adopts the scale of assessments for the
apportionment of the costs under the Protocol for 2009 and 2010 set
out in table 5 below;

8. Decides to set the working capital reserve at a
level of 5 per cent of the core programme budget (BG) expenditure,
including programme support costs;

9. Invites all Parties to the Protocol to note that
contributions to the core programme budget (BG) are due on 1
January of the year in which these contributions have been budgeted
for, and to pay them promptly, and urges Parties in a position to
do so, to pay by 1 October of the year 2008 for the calendar year
2009 and by 1 October 2009 for the calendar year 2010, the
contributions set out in table 5 and in this regard requests
Parties be notified of the amount of their contributions by 1
August of the year preceding the year in which the contributions
are due;

10. Notes with concern that a number of Parties have
not paid their contributions to the core budget (BG Trust Fund) for
2007 and prior years;

11. Urges Parties that have still not paid their
contributions to the core budget (BG Trust Fund) for 2007 and prior
years; to do so without delay and requests the Executive Secretary
to publish and regularly update information on the status of
contributions to the Protocol's Trust Funds (BG, BH and BI);

12. Decides that with regard to contributions due from
1 January 2005 onwards, Parties whose contributions are in arrears
for two (2) or more years will not be eligible to become a member
of the bureau of the Protocol; this will only apply in the case of
Parties that are not least developed countries or small island
developing states;

13. Authorizes the Executive Secretary to enter into
arrangements with any Party whose contributions are in arrears for
two or more years to mutually agree on a 'schedule of payments' for
such a Party, to clear all outstanding arrears, within six years
depending on the financial circumstances of the Party in arrears
and pay future contributions by the due date, and report on the
implementation of any such arrangement to the next meeting of the
Bureau and to the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting
of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety;

14. Decides that a Party with an agreed arrangement in
accordance with paragraph 13 above and that is fully respecting the
provisions of that arrangement will not be subject to the
provisions of paragraph 12 above;

15. Takes note of the funding estimates for activities
under the Protocol to be financed from:

(a) The Special Voluntary Trust Fund (BH) for Additional
Voluntary Contributions in Support of Approved Activities for the
biennium 2009-2010, as specified by the Executive Secretary (see
resource requirements in table 3 );

(b) The Special Voluntary Trust Fund (BI) for Facilitating
Participation of the Developing Country Parties, in particular the
least developed countries and small island developing States, and
Parties with Economies in Transition, for the biennium 2009-2010,
as specified by the Executive Secretary (see resource requirements
in table 4 ); and urges Parties to make contributions to these
funds;

16. Requests the Secretariat to remind the Parties on
the need for contributions to the BI Trust Fund at least six month
prior to the meeting of the Conference of the Parties serving as
the meeting of the Parties to the Protocol reflecting on the
financial need and urges Parties in the position to do so to ensure
that the contributions are paid at least three months before the
meeting;

17. Invites all States not Parties to the Protocol, as
well as governmental, intergovernmental and non-governmental
organizations and other sources, to contribute to the trust funds
for the Protocol (BH, BI) to enable the Secretariat to implement
approved activities in a timely manner especially capacity-building
priorities and activities identified by developing countries and
small island developing States, and Parties with economies in
transition in respect of risk assessment and risk management and
the effective operation of the Biosafety Clearing-House;

18. Reaffirms the importance of full and active
participation of the developing country parties, in particular the
least developed countries and small island developing States, as
well as Parties with Economies in Transition in the activities of
the Protocol and, with the aim of improving the legitimacy of
Protocol decisions, authorises the Executive Secretary in agreement
with the Bureau to draw upon the savings and or surplus of the BG
Trust Fund up to a maximum of US$ 150,000 to cover the costs
incurred with the facilitation of the participation in the
Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to
the Protocol of the developing country Parties, in particular the
least developed countries and small island developing States, and
Parties with economies in transition, if there are not sufficient
funds available in the BI Trust Fund three months before the
meeting of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of
the Parties to the Protocol; 19. Decides that the trust
funds for the Protocol (BG, BH, BI) shall be extended for a period
of two years, beginning 1 January 2010 and ending 31 December
2011;

20. Requests the Executive Secretary to prepare and
submit a programme budget for secretariat services and the
biosafety work programme of the Protocol for the biennium 2011-2012
to the fifth meeting of the Conference of the Parties serving as
the meeting of the Parties to the Protocol, and to provide 3
alternatives for the budget based on:

(a) The Executive Secretary will make assessment of the required
rate of growth for the programme budget;

21. Requests the Executive Secretary to report on
income and budget performance, unspent balances and the status of
surplus and carry-overs, including the status of implementation of
paragraph 19 as well as any adjustments made to the Protocol budget
for the biennium 2009-2010 and to provide to the Conference of the
Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Protocol and
biosafety focal points all financial information regarding the
budget for the Convention on Biological Diversity at the same time
as it is provided to Parties to the Convention;

22. Requests the Executive Secretary, in presenting the
proposed programme budget for the biennium 2011-2012 to the fifth
meeting of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of
the Parties to the Protocol, to use the modality and tracking
mechanism to review the ratio specified in paragraph 6 above;

23. Reconfirms the importance of applying the procedure
set out in annex I of decision VIII/10 of the Conference of the
Parties to priority setting to guide the allocation of financial
resources by the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting
of the Parties to the Protocol, but agrees that the mid-meeting
report to the plenary of the Conference of the Parties serving as
the meeting of the Parties to the Protocol should be made available
after the initial consideration of draft decisions by working
groups;

24. Requests the Executive Secretary drawing on, inter
alia, the Joint Inspection Unit recommendations contained in
General Assembly document A/45/130, the experience of the United
Nations Convention to Combat Desertification and the work done by
the Secretariat of the Rotterdam Convention in response to
decisions RC 3/7 and RC 1/17 paragraph 23, to explore the
advantages and disadvantages of using the host country currency or
the US$ as the currency of the account and budget of the Protocol
and to report and if appropriate make proposals for decision at the
fifth meeting of the Conference of the Parties serving as the
meeting of the Parties to the Protocol;

25. Notes with appreciation the decision of the
Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme to
finance the post of Fund Management Officer of the Cartagena
Protocol on Biosafety through the programme support costs and
requests the Executive Secretary to negotiate with the Executive
Director additional support to the Protocol for the 2009-2010
biennium from this source and to report to the fifth meeting of the
Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to
the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety;

26. Invites the Executive Director of the United
Nations Environment Programme to report to the fifth meeting of the
Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to
the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety on the use of the programme
support cost (PSC) in support of the functioning of the
Secretariat;

27. Welcomes the efforts of the Executive Secretary in
greening activities by the Secretariat such as the
carbon-offsetting of travel of staff and funded participants to the
meetings under the Convention on Biological Diversity.